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Naig encourages Iowans to celebrate agriculture during America 250
As planning begins for America 250, the nationwide commemoration of the United States reaching 250 years, Iowa leaders are emphasizing that the milestone is not only about looking back. It is also about recognizing what has made the country successful, and what will keep it strong for the next 250 years. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says that is part of what motivates him to serve as vice chair of Iowa’s America 250 task force. Governor Kim Reynolds asked Naig to take the role,...
USMEF pursuing opportunities for U.S. beef in Angola
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is leading a trade mission to Angola this week, and with the support of the Beef Checkoff Program, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Africa Representative Matt Copeland is participating. Copeland said that there are...
Ethanol powering America and helping to save farms
The National Ethanol Conference was held in San Diego last week and it provided a morale boost to the ethanol industry. That’s Renewable Fuels Association Chair Erik Huschitt who wasn’t alone in praising the corn powered fuel’s achievements since the 1980s and those...
Waste in EPA environmental justice grant spending
Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says millions of taxpayer dollars funneled through the Environmental Protection Agency’s grant programs weren’t used correctly. While the funds were used to cover recipient organizations’ overhead costs and operating expenses,...
NASDA Members make trade trip to Cuba
As we look to open up new trade options around the globe, we are also looking at opening doors with former trade partners that have been estranged for political reasons for some time. Recently a delegation from the National Association of State Departments of...
EPA’s E15 final decision welcome, but some questions remain
The Environmental Protection Agency has granted the request from eight Midwestern states, including Iowa, to sell year-round E15 beginning in 2025. The EPA approved the long-delayed petitions from eight Midwest governors to allow summertime sales of E15 in these...
U.S. Export Sales Report (2-23-24)
This week was not a good one for the grain markets, and that could be seen in this week’s export sales as well. Corn is still looking fine, but soybeans posted the lowest numbers for this week in over thirty years. Allendale commodity broker Greg McBride gave an...
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Food Bank of Iowa receives donation of almost 240,000 eggs
Today, the Iowa Egg Council, Rose Acre Farms, and Hatch partnered together to make a generous donation of almost 240,000 eggs to the Food Bank of Iowa. This comes at a time when food donations are critical, as communities like Greenfield and Spencer are still...
Beef exports climb even higher while pork sits below last year’s pace
The value of U.S. beef exports topped $900 million in May, the highest since June 2023, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said exports trended higher year-over-year to...
Vilsack says clock is ticking on passage of new farm bill
United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says that everyone is on the same page with the goal of getting a new five-year farm bill done. However, he also says that time is getting tight for the completion of a new farm bill and is calling for all sides to...
Thirty million farm acres abandoned since 1986
In 2022, a University of Wisconsin study claimed that U.S. farmers had converted several million acres of pristine grassland and other “semi-natural areas” to cropland. Researcher Tyler Lark said that was in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard and ethanol...
High-tech equipment increasing demand for larger farm sheds
We talk at length about the changes we see in technology and the larger equipment we are seeing in the fields. While we focus so much on how the technology is changing the face of farming and how it makes us more efficient with our resources and inputs, we tend to...
